


Festivals of Light

by pauraque



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alien Culture, F/F, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Holidays, Romantic Fluff, Slow Dancing, Star Trek Holidays Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27944375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pauraque/pseuds/pauraque
Summary: Aboard theEnterprise, holidays from many worlds are observed all year long. While attending a celebration of the Bolian winter solstice, Beverly and Deanna find that some traditions just make sense no matter what planet you're from.
Relationships: Beverly Crusher/Deanna Troi
Comments: 20
Kudos: 36
Collections: Star Trek Holidays 2020





	Festivals of Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [judyhard1ng](https://archiveofourown.org/users/judyhard1ng/gifts).



The curious, dreamy arpeggios of Bolian folk music drifted through Ten Forward, swirling around the couples and groups of friends who danced to it, weaving around each other, embracing or hand in hand. Most were Bolian, but not all; some had brought friends from one of the many other species aboard, and some couples were mixed. One Bolian woman held her young son in her arms, smiling with eyes closed as she rocked him to the ancient tune.

Floating crystals hovered above like lamps, meandering in easy spirals through the air and bathing the dancers in gradually shifting jewel tones. One of these crystals wafted lazily down to where the tables had been moved up against the wall in a crowded jumble to make room for the dance, and came to nearly rest between the two women who sat there, watching.

"Oh, how lovely..." Deanna reached out for the polyhedral crystal, which cast a cyan glow on the tabletop. It levitated slightly beyond her reach, as if skittish. She withdrew her fingers and smiled. "They seem to respond to people. Sorry," she added to the crystal. "I won't touch."

The crystal relaxed into a lower hover, its color making a slow shift towards purple.

"Heat-sensitive, maybe," Beverly suggested. She gazed up at the other crystals, which seemed to curve their orbits around the dancers, visiting one after another like slow-motion butterflies flitting amongst flowers. She sipped her Bolian tea, so sharply citrus-flavored that it made her eyes water a little.

"It's interesting how many cultures have winter festivals with similar characteristics," Deanna observed. As she peered into the crystal, its lavender glow softly illuminated her skin and her hair, picking out the edges of her curls. "Lights and fires, gathering with loved ones... I suppose when it's dark and cold, it's only sensible to take some action to make life bright and warm again." She held her palm up to the light, not close enough to make the crystal withdraw again.

"I never really understood what winter was when I was a little girl," Beverly admitted. "On Earth's moon, it's fourteen days of light and fourteen days of darkness, repeating all year round." She made a firm gesture with her hand, one side and then the other— black and white. "It always frustrated me when people talked about things happening in the summer or the winter, when the Moon didn't have them. That was my pet peeve!"

Deanna's dark eyes glittered with amusement. "I can imagine. We don't have seasonal changes on Betazed either. There's not enough axial tilt. My father used to tell me about winter on Earth... Long, cold nights, tiny ice crystals falling from the sky and turning everything white..." A smile of nostalgia, slightly bittersweet, crept across her face. "It sounded like a fairy tale to me." She shook her head, leaned in and confided, "When I came to the Academy, I was _so_ looking forward to seeing the winter. My roommate hated to break it to me that it doesn't snow in San Francisco."

They shared a laugh. Beverly loved Deanna's laugh; it made her feel a warmth inside that had nothing to do with hot Bolian tea.

"Not that it stops anyone from putting up paper snowflakes and icicle lights, of course," said Beverly wryly. "It was the same way on the Moon. So many people there were from Earth, or went back and forth for work, that it was commonplace to see seasonal decorations even though they didn't make any sense from a lunar perspective."

Deanna tilted her head thoughtfully. "It's the paradoxical nature of tradition, I suppose. The more ancient the ways, the more significant they feel... and yet the further removed we are from the circumstances where those ways first seemed natural and straightforward. We can only do our best to reconcile the contrast."

Before Beverly could think of an answer for that, a young Bolian science officer in uniform approached the table.

"Nice to see you here, Counselor!"

"Oh, Lieutenant Mandat! Happy... Trahg... janna? Am I saying that right?"

"Close enough," Mandat laughed. "Aren't you two going to dance? It's not Trahg-janna without that. And look, the lights are trying to invite you!" She pointed to the crystal that hovered above their table. It did a little loop in the air as if in agreement, and cast a pinkish glow that turned Mandat's blue skin a soft violet.

At the thought of dancing with Deanna, Beverly felt her face grow warm, and hoped the crystal's light would hide her blush. "We were just wondering, how do they work?" she asked quickly. "Do they respond to body heat, or maybe cortical activity?"

"Oh, it's the magic of the season, Doctor," Mandat said, and placed a secretive finger over her lips. "I'll tell you later, when there aren't children listening," she added in a whisper.

"Of course," Deanna said with a broad smile. "Tell us, what do we do? I only know a little about your traditions."

"It's a simple ritual," Mandat said. "All who dance under the lights of Trahg-janna are fated to have a prosperous new year."

She turned as some of the Bolians on the dance floor called her name, and went to join them with a smile and a wave goodbye. Two opened their arms and welcomed her into their dance; she took one man's hand and laughed as he twirled her around and pulled her close.

"If only prosperity were so easily guaranteed," Beverly muttered under her breath once Mandat was out of earshot.

"Beverly, you're so cynical sometimes," Deanna said with an affectionate laugh.

"So you believe that what she said is true?"

Deanna considered before answering. "I believe," she said carefully, "that there is value in setting one's mind on a positive track. It's difficult to succeed in anything without first believing that you can."

Beverly found she couldn't argue with that point.

"That being established..." Deanna rose from her seat, and the crystal rose too, spiraling above them. She held out her hand, a soft smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Would you care to dance?"

Beverly half-expected herself to say she couldn't possibly, she never danced anymore... Yet somehow instead she took Deanna's hand and let herself be led to the dance floor.

The other dancers gladly made room for them with smiles and nods, and the music shifted to a new song, slower, the key shifting downward to a mellow, spacey, Lydian-like scale. It had been a long time since Beverly had slow-danced, but as her fingers intertwined with Deanna's, as her other arm slid around her waist, it felt so natural, like the muscle memory of using an old-style tricorder. She found herself leading, and Deanna smiled as she followed, placing her hand on Beverly's shoulder with a gentle caress. They swayed to the unfamiliar, alien music as the lights dappled the room with rainbow colors, slipping over their bodies.

"I love being around people who are enjoying themselves," Deanna sighed, resting her head against Beverly's shoulder. "It's like being wrapped in a big, warm blanket."

Beverly felt a flush of warmth too, finally beginning to understand the appeal of a winter holiday. Outside the viewports, the velvet night of space was cold and dark, but in here, everything was warm and bright. "I..." She found her tongue dry, and had to swallow before going on, softly. "I feel that way when I'm around you. I have for a long time. I guess that can't possibly come as a surprise to you."

Deanna pulled back and met her gaze with a smile of sheer joy. She shook her head and said, "No. it doesn't. Would it surprise you to know that I feel the same way?"

A wave of relief swept through Beverly's body like a chord of resolution, and Deanna must have sensed it; she breathed a laugh, her eyes brimming with happy tears.

Deanna stood on tiptoe to press their foreheads together, the way courting Bolians do. It was traditional, and maybe appropriate to the setting, but Beverly felt the need to do things her own way. She pulled Deanna into a kiss as the lights of winter danced around them, promising a bright new year.

Of course, by Earth's calendar, it was the middle of the summer, and by the shipboard clock the new year wasn't due for another six months. But, Beverly thought, there was never a bad time of year to start something good.


End file.
